The Greatest Songs of All Time

Surfing the web today, I came across a list of Rolling Stones 100 greatest songs of all time, and it got me thinking, what would I consider the "greatest songs of all time"? It's really a tough choice judging from all of the music I consider great. I'm kind of an eclectic listener. So, I pose the same question to anyone reading this: Which would you consider the greatest songs of all time? You know, the kind of song that you could listen to year after year and it never gets old and always makes you stop and think "Man, this is a great song"? I'm curious what all of your favorites are so let me know. Some of the ones I love are listed on RS' 100 greatest and some aren't but I thought it might be kind of fun to hear what songs you all would put on that list. Here are some I came up with in no particular order:

- Fire and Rain by James Taylor
- Something in the Way She Moves by James Taylor
- You Can Close Your Eyes by James Taylor
- Carolina On My Mind by James Taylor...virtually any song by James Taylor
- Blackbird by Sarah McLachlan
- Singin' in the Rain by Gene Kelly
- Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
- Collide by Howie Day
- One Fine Day by Natalie Merchant
- Mack The Knife by Michael Buble (and a variety of other artists)
- Home by Michael Buble
- A Long December by Counting Crows
- Let It Be by The Beatles
- Motorcycle Driveby by Third Eye Blind
- Rainy Days and Mondays by The Carpenters- don't we all secretly just love The Carpenters?

I know some of those still have yet to really stand the test of time, but hopefully that gets you all thinking.

Celebrating an Amazing Woman

To get everyone up to speed on what has been going on in the Richards family, last week Gordon and I travelled back to UT for the funeral of his mom, Charlotte Richards. She passed away after a long battle with cancer. We were able to spend a few days back with all of his family. All of the services were really beautiful and it was a great opportunity to reflect on what a truly incredible person she was. We were so fortunate to have such a wonderful, caring woman in our lives and are grateful for the time we had with her. She was such an example of love, sacrifice, and faith and we were grateful for the opportunity to return home to celebrate her wonderful life and achievements. We have been so grateful for the knowledge we have of Heavenly Father's plan for us through all of this. It has reinforced even more clearly the importance of family and we are so grateful for the ones we have been blessed with. A big thanks to all who have expressed their love and concern.

What a fun trip!

Needless to say, it was a blast visiting the Gardners. We so miss having them close by! We had so much fun hanging out, celebrating Brinley's birthday, and touring the sites of PA. The girls are growing up so fast and it was fun to spend a good amount of time with them. A big thanks to Annette and Ron for all of their hospitality and all of the fun things they had planned for our trip out. We were definitely spoiled! We love and miss you guys already!

Valley Forge

Sunday after church we all took a trip out to drive around Valley Forge. Talk about beautiful!! It definitely made me wish I lived down the street. We did arrive after all of the tours were closed, but it was still fun to drive around and see the replicas of the cabins where the soldiers stayed during their six months at Valley Forge, Washington's Headquarters and the Memorial Arch for the sacrifices made there. Top it all off with beautiful Pennsylvania countryside and it was a pretty neat trip. Take the time to visit if you're ever in that neck of the woods. You won't be dissapointed!

A Day in Philadelphia

Our second trip out in PA was to Philadelphia. We were able to tour Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Liberty Bell, and the Benjamin Franklin museum. A few highlights for me:

- Learning more about our nation's history and being in the places where it actually happened.
- Seeing the very chair George Washington sat in when they formed the Declaration of Independence.
- Driving through a big city without having a panic attack...
- Walking around Phili with family. It was so fun being with all the Gardners and Manning sisters and Mom and seeing new things and new places together.

A Day With the Amish

After arriving in PA to visit the Gardners, we all decided it would be fun to take a trip out to visit Lancaster to visit the Amish. It was definitely an eye-opening trip to see how the Amish live and work. A few highlights of the trip for me:

- Seeing all of the ingenious ways they do without modern technology.
- Learning about the Amish religion and philosophy. (I knew zip about it before we went!)
- Seeing the "interesting" ways they name towns in PA. (See Annette's blog for the evidence.)
- Chris the woodcarver and his pumpkin launcher. Seriously one of the funniest things I've ever seen. He truly had Brinley convinced to let him launch her over the barn on the farm, over a tree and into a pile of sheep poop. Her only complaint: "But I don't want to get messy!" Hilarious!

A Day in Kirtland

I'm sure most of you have already seen all of the pictures on other people's blogs, but I thought I'd finally get mine posted from the fun last couple of weeks that we've had. These are from our day in Kirtland. My Mom and Kara flew in to visit and we took advantage of the day we spent here in OH before heading to Annette's in PA by making a trip out to Kirtland. It was AWESOME! Definitely worth every minute. A few highlights of our visit for me:

- Learning more about the history of Kirtland and the history of the Church in general.
- Learning more about the Kirtland temple and the sacrifices made to build it.
- Walking where Joseph Smith and so many of the those prominent first members walked.
- Seeing the actual table Joseph Smith sat at while receiving many revelations.
- Being in the room where they held the School of the Prophets above the Newel K. Whitney store.
- Having my testimony strengthened of the truthfulness of the Gospel.

There was such a wonderful spirit in Kirtland and no denying that it truly is an incredible place. If you ever have a chance to make it out there, TAKE IT! You definitely won't be disappointed.

This Week's Top 5

I'm totally going to be boring and post a Top 5 list for this week. Why only top 5? Because it's been a pretty low-key week and I couldn't come up with 10. Creativity is running a little short today!

5. We finally have our top 20 for So You Think You Can Dance. Now on to some rockin' performances! Yeah! That's the best part of the show!

4. Cleaning out the Accord. Ok, so I know cleaning out the car wouldn't normally be on a top 5 list, but because Gordon was gone and not driving it Monday I got to give it the full treatment. The boys are less than courteous about leaving their garbage and belongings everywhere when they drive with Gordon so it felt good to get it all clean again. Call me crazy I guess!! Gordon's neat freak tendencies must be rubbing off!

3. Finding a few cheap simple pleasures among my trips to stores this week. I found a straw bag at Target for $2.50 that will be perfect for lugging my summer projects from place to place as I work on them. And $.59 Midnight Milky Ways that I finally found at Target. (If you haven't tried them, they are absolutely to DIE for!! I mean, how can you go wrong with a dark chocolate covered Milky Way? SO yummy but can be a little tricky to track down.) Life is all about enjoying the cheap simple pleasures, right?

2. Finally finishing the bills system that is going to keep me on time and organized this summer. Let me explain: Before we came out, Gordon and I had a nice system all up and running for paying bills. He told me when to write the check, I wrote it, addressed the envelope with stamp, and gave it back to him to mail, he made the trip to the post office. Simple enough, right? Well, because he's too busy the bill paying was turned solely over to me, scatter-brained Tricia, who can't remember much of anything let alone when a bill is due... Sad, I know. But, I've finally got it all figured out in a system that works for me and is virtually fool-proof in reminding me when things are due. If it's organized and under control I can handle it, if not, I'm pretty much guaranteed to forget about it so I'm definitely excited about having my system to keep me on track.

1. Gordon came home from Utah on Tuesday!! He left last Saturday night to make a trip home to see his mom who isn't doing well and was able to stay a few days and help take of her. It was awesome that he was able to go back but it is always good to have him home too! Because he got home late on Tuesday and didn't have time to go out and sell, we also got to go have a nice dinner with just the two of us at a pizza joint down the street. It was awesome having him all to myself for at least a couple of hours! Definitely the highlight of my week!

So, I guess that's been our week. I can't wait for Mom and Kara to fly in on Monday and we're all so excited to be going to see Annette. I hope you're ready for your house to be invaded by something other than stink bugs, Annette!! 'Cause ready or not, here we come!!

The Best Cleaner Ever

I'm happy to announce that after a long and grueling search, I have found the ultimate cleaning product! You know those commercials you see on tv where they spray the mold/mildew/"nasties that live in the bathroom" and they somehow magically disappear before your eyes with no effort at all? Then you bring it home expecting something miraculous to happen and you spend the next 15 mintues vigorously scrubbing away to force said mold/mildew/"nasties that live in the bathroom" to disappear. Totally frustrating! Well, I'm happy to say, that when I brought this little wonder home to tackle the chore I hate most (cleaning the shower/tub) it did exactly that! I followed the directions, sprayed the tile, and watched as black was turned to white like magic! Wonder of wonders!! I will say that this king of all cleaners did not do the job I thought it would on the rust stain leading from the nozzle to the drain, but when I took a magic eraser to that, it got the job done. One other slight negative is that it does contain bleach which means you're really disinfecting but with the cleaning power of bleach you also get the smell. Trading mold for a clean bleach scent is definitely a trade I'm willing to make however. The new rule of thumb for this ultimate cleaning product: if it's orange, pull out the eraser; if it's any other color, spray and say goodbye!!